Regulator for dynamo-electric machines



B. M. LEECE AND H. 0. BRANCH.

REGULATOR FOR DYNAMO ELECTRIC MACHINES.

APPLICATION HLED AUG-15, 1917.

1,374,856. A Patented r. 12, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. BENNETT M. LEECE AND C. BRANCH, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNQRS o THE LEECE-NEVILLE COMPANY; OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO I REGULATOR FOR DYNAMIC-ELECTRIC MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 12, 1921.

Application filed August 15, 1917. Serial No. 186,294.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, BENNETT M. Laser: and HARRY G. BRANCH, citizens of the United States, and residents, respectlvely,

of Cleveland in the county of Cuyahoga namo electric machines particularly ada ted for use in connection with generators w ic h are operated under widely different conditions of speed and load, such, for example, as lighting and battery charging generators of automobiles and other engine driven vehicles. v

' In certain respects this invention 1s an improvement over ing the subject matter of our prior application, Serial No. 172,567, filed June 1, 1917, for regulator for dynamo electric machines.

The, principal object of the present invention. is to provide a regulator which is sensitive, which prevents electrical surges through the field circuit when the load is suddenly thrown on or off the machine, and which regulates the output of the machine both-for voltage and current, maintaining the voltage substantially constant under different conditions of speed and load, and giving the machine the desired current characteristic which may straight line characteristic, a drooping characteristic or rising characteristic as may be desired.

In our copending application above referred to, we disclose a regulator in the form of a vibrator, having a regulatingcoil which functions insubstantially the usual manner, and also a sensitizing coil which cooperates with the first to limit or control the rate and range of movement of the vibrator contact with reference to the normally fixed or stationary contact.

In the present application we employ in the regulator two magnet coils, one acting on what is the normally movable contact, and the other cooperating with the other contact so as to shift its position with reference to the main movable contact and thus assist in controll g the ange of move ent the regulator constitutbe a constant or of the main movable contact and the erio of time that the contacts are in er igage ment. The 0011 which shifts or vibrates the mam contact is preferably connected across the term1 nals of the machine, and it may be elther in the field circuit or in a separate shunt or branch circuit independent of the field circuit, (this regulator being preferably used in connection with a generator having a shunt field winding). The other 0011 which acts on the normally statlonary' contact may under certain circumstances be connected across the terminals of the machine in a shunt or' branch circuit, but preferably, and as here shown, it is a series coil, so that the shifting effect which it has on the cooperating contact varies directly with the current in the load circuit.

Our nventlon may be further briefly summarized as consisting 1n certain novel details of construction and combinations.

and arrangements of arts which will be described in the speci cation and set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, Figure 1 1s a side view of my improved regulator in its preferred form, parts being in section; Fig. 2 is an end view looking toward the righthand end of Fig. 1; F g. 3 is a top plan view;-Fig. 4 is an end v ew looking toward the left hand end of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view showlng the circuit connections.

In the embodiment of our invention here shown, the regulator is in the same unitary structure with the reverse current cut-out which is ordinarily employed in lighting systems of motor vehicles, but the association of these two members in one unitary structure is not necessary. In the structure here shown, 10 represents the shunt coil, 11 the series coil of the reverse current cutout arranged as is customary, concentric with respect to each other about a core 12 attached to a field frame or yoke 13, to which is pivoted at 14 an armature 15 carrying'at its free end the contact 16 which cooperates with a stationary contact 17. A spring 18 is utilized in the customary manner to open the circuit between the generator and battery when the voltage of the generator drops below a predetermined value, and the magnetic pull created by the current in the two i1s, ofo u se serves to ull the armature in the reverse direction to close the circuit when the generator voltage rises above that of the battery. The operation of a reverse current cut-out of this type is so well known that no further description of the same is necessary.

Extending from the base of the yoke or frame for the reverse current cut-out 1s a regulating magnet including a coil 20 surrounding a core 21. Extending above this coil 20 and the two coils of the reverse cutout is a bar 22 which supports an armature 23 for the regulating magnet, this armature being yieldingly supported at the end of the bar 22' through the medium of a leaf spring 24. It will be observed that the end of the bar 22 which projects beyond the regulating magnet is bent upwardly and is forked, and that the armature 23 is yieldingly supported between the prongs or fingers of this upstanding part by the spring 24 which at its upper end is riveted or otherwise attached to the upper portions of the two fingers, and its lower end is riveted or otherwise attached to about the middle part of the armature 23. The upper part of the armature has an inturned portion 23 from which extends a leaf spring 25 carrying at its free end the main movable regulator contact 26. The upper part of the armature likewise has an upstandmg portion 23 to which is attached a spring 27 which yieldingly resists the inward movement of the lower part of the armature under the action of the regulating coil 20. It might be mentioned that one end of the spring 27 is attached to the part 23 of the armature and that the other end of the spring is attached to a member 28 secured to the top of a block 29 supported on the portion of the bar 22 which extends over two coils 10 and 11 of the reverse current cut-out.

The second regulator contact which cooperates with the main movable contact 26, is shown at 30, this contact being yieldingly supported at the free end of a spring 31 likewise mounted on the block 29 and having on on side a backing strip 32 which limits its upward movement.

Ordinarily. in a regulator of this general type the main movable contact of which is shifted by a magnet having a coil such as the coil 20, cooperates with a stationary contact, but in this case, as will be observed, the contact 30 with which the main movable contact 26 cooperates, has a limited range of movement toward and from the main movable contact 26.. In accordance with the present invention, this movement of the contact 30 is controlled by a coil 33 which as here shown, is mounted on a depressed part of the bar 22, directly beneath the contact supporting spring 31, this coil 33 serving to vary the position of the contact 30 so as to vary the range of movement and the period age or shunt coil connected across the armaw ture of the generator 1f the coil 20 1s in series with the field.

The preferred connections are shown in Fig. 5, which shows a generator having an armature 35 and a shunt field winding 36, this generator being adapted to charge a battery 37, or to supply current to a lamp circuit 38. As here shown, the regulatorcontacts 26 and 30 are adapted to open and close a circuit about a field resistance 39, and in this case the main regulating coil 20 which shifts the movable contact 26' is connected across the terminals of the machine in a circuit independent of the shunt field circuit, but as before stated, it might be included directly in the field circuit. By the action of the regulating coil 20, supplemented by the action of the coil 33, the object set forth at the beginning of the specification is attained to a very high degree, the coil 20 continuously and rapidly vibrating the main movable contact and the coil 33 varying the position of the contact 30 to just the desired extent to so effect the period of time that the contacts are in engagement that the desired current and voltage characteristics are obtained. For example, if the load is suddenly thrown onto the machine, so that the voltage tends to fall and the armature 23 moves to a relatively weak part of the field, the coil 33 pulls the movable contact downward somewhat, so as to prevent a too long engagement of the contacts 26 and 30. other hand, when the load is thrown off the machine and the armature springs to a relatively strong part of the field created by the coil 20, the contact 30 moves upward so as to increase the period of dwell of the contacts 26 and 30 and so prevent a high voltage surge through the field.

With these two coils arranged to cooperate with the two contacts as herein shown and described, the surging through the field is prevented, the voltage of the generator will remain substantially constant as the speed varies and the current output can be made to follow a predetermined characteristic such as a drooping characteristic as well as a straight line or rising characteristic by var ing the ampere turns or by otherwise e ecting the pull of the magnet coil 33 ,.;on the leaf spring or armature carrying the contact 30.

It will be obvious from the above, that we a e not tobe confined to the precise details On the shown, and we aim in our claims to cover all modifications which do not involve a departure from the spirit and scope of our 1. In combination with a dynamo electric machine having a field winding, of a regulator for varying the ampere turns of the field winding, said regulatorbeing in the form of a unit comprising two magnets having windings both connected to the dynamo electric machine but in separate circuits, and a pair of field regulating contacts each influenced by one of said magnets, and one of the contacts being mounted for vibratory movement into and out of engagement with the other.

2. In combination with a dynamo electric machine having a field winding, a regulator for controlling the output of said machine comprising a pair of regulating contacts, one mounted for vibratory movement into and out of engagement with the other, and the second yieldingly supported to move toward and from the first-named, a main re lating magnet connected to the dynamo e ectricmachine for vibrating the first-named contact, and a second magnet supported in fixed relation to the first-named and serving to vary the position of the second contact, said second magnet being likewise connected to said dynamo electric machine but in a separate circuit with respect to the circuit of the first magnet.

In testimony whereof, we hereunto affix our signatures.

BENNETT M. LEECE. HARRY c. BRANCH. 

